All posts by: Sarah Hansen, M.S. '15

UMBC’s Jordan Troutman to continue algorithmic fairness research as Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford

Jordan Troutman ’21, M29, computer science and mathematics, first discovered algorithmic fairness during a summer research program at Rutgers University after his first year at UMBC. The field focuses on how computer algorithms, such as those responsible for facial recognition or the content in our social media feeds, can foster fairness or unfairness. The effects include anything from attempting to identify someone who committed a crime to curating the content we see in ways that influence how we think about others.

“Because these algorithmic systems are being used to make a lot of life-changing decisions,” Troutman says, “now we have to make sure that the tools and technologies we’re developing have some type of guarantees or safeguards to make sure that they don’t have unintended consequences towards minority groups specifically, or just any unintended actions.”

When Troutman returned to UMBC from his summer at Rutgers, he sought out James Foulds, assistant professor of information systems. He’s researched these issues under Foulds’s mentorship for the past three years.

This fall, Troutman will take his research interests to Stanford University, where he’ll pursue a Ph.D. in computer science as UMBC’s first Knight-Hennessy Scholar. The international Knight-Hennessy Scholarship is open to students applying to graduate school at Stanford in any area of study. In addition to funding, it offers robust leadership and community-development training. Troutman was selected as exemplifying the scholarship’s core values: independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and civic mindedness.

Socially-minded scholarship

In the 2019 – 2020 academic year, Troutman represented the student perspective as a voting member of the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), which establishes policies for every college in the state. At UMBC, Troutman took on leadership roles in the Student Government Association (SGA), the National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE), and as a teaching assistant and tutor supporting fellow students. In 2020, he received another prestigious honor, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship.

Jordan Troutman, left, and Dan Barnhart, former director of The Commons and student life at UMBC, who recommended Troutman apply for the MHEC position.

Troutman is a Meyerhoff Scholar and a member of the Honors College, and he’s one of two UMBC valedictorians for 2021. In addition to Rutgers, he’s conducted summer research at the University of California, Berkeley and in the Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics (FATE) research group at Microsoft. Troutman has also been involved with UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life (CDCL), and he counts its director, David Hoffman, among his mentors.

“Jordan embodies the kind of creativity that transcends disciplinary boundaries, and has found dazzling ways to weave his social concerns into his scholarship,” Hoffman shares. “I’m confident he will thrive in the Knight-Hennessy program, and that we will have many more occasions to celebrate his civic contributions.”

Participating in leadership has also given Troutman the chance to get to know other leaders. His experience with MHEC demonstrated what true leadership looks like. “It’s really powerful to see how—when you are passionate about something, and you care about the people, and not the power or the position—you can do good work and effect good change.”

From intention to impact

With the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, as well as a highly competitive Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation, Troutman will have the freedom to pursue research of his choice at Stanford. He values the opportunity to be creative in his approach and thinks of his research as “computational social sciences”—interdisciplinary by definition. His computer science and math courses have prepared him for the work; so have courses in the liberal arts and his experiences with campus engagement.

Elective courses in philosophy “helped me understand broadly how to articulate these non-quantitative concepts,” such as fairness, Troutman says. A particular Honors College course about how the media uses faces and how we internalize what the faces represent stuck with him.

Social media algorithms “are everywhere. So if these algorithms are unfair in any way, then the way we’re consuming this media may not necessarily be representative of the world we live in,” Troutman says. “I think that’s a super important problem, and because I’ve taken these other classes, it’s given me a broader context of how important this problem is and has reaffirmed my interest in doing this kind of research.”

A student writes on a white board. Seven colleagues watch from their seats around a conference table. — Jordan Troutman, far left, attends a lab meeting in fall 2019 with James Foulds (right rear, green shirt) and his peers.

Troutman is looking forward to collaborating with the other Knight-Hennessy Scholars on some of these big ideas. He also appreciates the leadership training offered through the program, which he sees as being about “trying to figure out how to be a well-intentioned person, and then making really good work out of what your intentions are for the world.”

Supportive community

Troutman shares that several UMBC experiences were instrumental in helping him build his confidence and understand the powerful difference he can make.

Roles in SGA and participating in UMBC’s STRiVE student leadership retreat and Alternative Spring Break “helped me understand my own sense of agency and my ability to make an impact,” Troutman says. He realized that solving massive, intimidating problems often starts with a single person, and says, “Learning that has just made me believe that I literally could do anything.”

The Meyerhoff Scholars Program helped him internalize some of the same ideas. “Meyerhoff gave me this idea that you can really make a change in your life,” Troutman says. “You can be whoever you want to be. You just have to be active about it and to believe in yourself and use the support and community around you to get where you want to be.”

NSBE also played a role in Troutman’s growth. NSBE “helps students feel that they belong in science,” he says. “It’s helped to center me and to help me really understand what it means to build community. Now, I hope to go and help to foster more communities at these other places that I go in my life.”

And Foulds, his research mentor, “has given me really good insight, perspective, and guidance on how to do research, think about problems, and especially how to overcome a lot of different pitfalls that happen in research,” Troutman says.

An ethical leader

All these programs, communities, and experiences are representative of the culture at UMBC, Troutman says. “You can really be yourself and be engaged and very intentional with people, and you can be as cool or kooky as you want—there’s a space for you at UMBC,” he says.

In the Knight-Hennessy application process, students submit a video addressed to their future Knight-Hennessy cohort. “Jordan’s video demonstrated how to do a gymnastics flip. Not the kind of thing you’d expect from a computer scientist—but it was a way to showcase his other interests and let his personality shine,” April Householder, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships, observes. “Lately, UMBC has been winning very prestigious scholarships, and I think part of the success has to do with encouraging our students to be themselves throughout the process.”

“I think that’s the beauty of this school,” Troutman shares. “You can be whoever you want. And it’s not just something that you say to get people in here. It’s like, no, they’re actually backing it up with the things that they do. It’s really about the students.”

For Troutman, his research, civic engagement, and leadership are all about one thing: making positive social change.

“While Jordan was working in my lab, I was gratified to see his enthusiasm grow as he realized that his technical research could be a part of the efforts he was already making toward creating positive change in our society,” Foulds says. “Jordan is on a path toward becoming an ethical leader and a thought leader who can help steer the course of progress in AI technology in the right direction.”

Ultimately, Troutman says, “What I want to do is just help people see their ideas come true.”

Banner image: Jordan Troutman on UMBC’s Academic Row. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC’s Anthony Johnson, pulse laser innovator, elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Anthony Johnson, professor of physics and computer science and electrical engineering, and director of UMBC’s Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR), has received the prestigious honor of election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Academy, founded during the American Revolution, “honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and”—in the words of its original founders—“work together ‘to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.’”

Being elected as a member is one of the highest honors a scholar can receive. The Academy has elected approximately 13,500 members since its founding in 1780.

The Optical Society also recently recognized Johnson’s more than 40-year career in photonics and his commitment to mentorship with the Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award.

Anthony Johnson. Photo courtesy Anthony Johnson.

High-impact research

Johnson joined the UMBC faculty in 2003 after launching his career at Bell Labs and then spending eight years at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In his research, he works on creative applications for ultrashort pulse lasers. These have included shrinking cancerous tumors, optimizing long-distance communications, preventing viruses in seafood from causing food-borne illness, and developing new nanoscale materials.

Mentoring emerging researchers has also been a key priority throughout Johnson’s life and career, and he is well known for his dedication to students and colleagues. “Anthony understands the role of nurturing students, helping them to find their inner spring and to fulfill their potential and their own personal dreams,” says long-time colleague and friend Stephen Fantone.

Commitment to the next generation

At the same time that Johnson received the Optical Society recognition, he was also named to the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion on the Technical Advisory Board of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Having benefited as an undergraduate from an internship focused on opportunities for people from underrepresented groups in physics, Johnson has always prioritized diversifying his field.

“There’s still a lot to be done in our professional societies to build up and attract both women and minorities,” Johnson told UMBC News for a story on the Optical Society award. “We still have work to do to expand the opportunities to a broader set of people and bring in new ideas.”

President Freeman Hrabowski is the only other person at UMBC who has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

“Anthony Johnson is a true pioneer, and he has had a profound impact on the world through his research and teaching,” Hrabowski says. “What’s especially significant is his deep commitment to guiding, supporting, and inspiring the next generation of scientists. I can think of no one more deserving of this honor.”

Banner image: Anthony Johnson, right, with students in his laboratory. Photo by UMBC.

UMBC’s Ryan Kramer confirms human-caused climate change with direct evidence for first time

A new analysis based on 16 years of observational data confirms that humans are heating the planet—a fact that had previously been inferred from climate models but not yet shown through direct evidence. Ryan Kramer, assistant research scientist at UMBC’s Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, led the research, which was published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Kramer and colleagues analyzed atmospheric data collected continuously by NASA’s CERES mission from 2003 to 2018. They were able to show that a portion of the energy being trapped inside Earth’s atmosphere and causing warming is directly attributable to human activities.

The new analysis, and the novel technique Kramer employed to complete it, will create opportunities to compare and improve climate models and to track climate change mitigation efforts in nearly real time.

This animation visualizes Earth’s energy balance. Incoming radiation (energy) is presented in yellow, and outgoing radiation is in red. The human-contributed parts of the cycle, which Ryan Kramer’s study isolated from the rest, are featured from 15 seconds to the end. Animation by Adriana Manrique Gutierrez at the NASA Conceptual Image Lab, and a more thorough explanation of the animation is here.

Many factors, one main culprit: Humans

CERES tracks changes in radiation (energy) entering and exiting Earth’s atmosphere, but doesn’t parse out exactly what’s causing the changes. Kramer did that with a technique called “radiative kernels.” Atmospheric scientists often apply these “kernels” to climate models, he says, but they’ve used them with observational data very rarely, and never before in this context.

A kernel can tell you how much of the total radiation change is due to a particular factor, such as the temperature, clouds, brightness of the Earth’s surface (ice versus forest, for example), or the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. Kramer subtracted out all the radiation changes even possibly attributable to natural changes.

“What’s left over is the radiative forcing,” he says. “And that radiative forcing is specifically caused by changes in greenhouse gases or changes in aerosols—so it’s the changes that we can specifically tie to human activity.”

“We knew the radiative forcing had to be in the CERES observations somewhere, but this was the first time we’ve really been able to pull it out, globally, and over time,” Kramer says. Many other factors have measurable effects on the overall radiation budget. Significantly, though, over the 16-year study period, Kramer says, “As far as we can see, the long-term trend in the CERES record seems to be almost entirely accounted for by the radiative forcing.”

Ryan Kramer (JCET). Courtesy Ryan Kramer.

Improving climate models

All climate models incorporate radiative forcing, as well as “radiative feedbacks,” or secondary effects caused by radiative forcing. And all climate models also have uncertainties.

“We tend to focus on the uncertainty in the feedbacks,” but there’s also uncertainty in how the different models simulate radiative forcing, Kramer says, “which is underappreciated.”

“We can use the observations to evaluate the models,” Kramer adds. The models that most closely matched the CERES observations may be more likely to accurately forecast future climate change.

Beyond determining which models were most accurate during the study period, “We can start digging into the models and see why some of the models don’t agree with the observations,” he adds. Understanding precisely what in the models causes them to disagree with real-life observations could enable improvements.

“It’s never that easy, because observations also have their uncertainties,” Kramer says, “but I think it’s a good first step toward really checking the radiative forcing in these models and understanding why they differ.”

A supercomputer model of how carbon dioxide, the gas currently having the greatest effect on climate change, swirled through the atmosphere in 2006. Visualization by William Putman at the NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

What’s helping and what’s not

Kramer describes the overall result—that humans are affecting the climate—as “the least surprising result in climate science.” But the fact that scientists could even detect the human-caused radiative forcing is something to be proud of, he explains.

The trend in radiative forcing over time “is an important change, but it’s often hidden behind the large fluctuations that we see on a year-over-year basis caused by El Niño or other natural processes,” he says. “The fact that our instruments can even measure it is an accomplishment.”

Perhaps even more impressive, new atmospheric data from CERES becomes available in nearly real time. Combine that with the radiative kernel technique, and you have a recipe for tracking Earth’s energy budget in a way that could immediately inform global emission reduction goals.

“I think radiative forcing could be used to track how things are going—how our actions are making climate change worse, or, eventually, how our mitigation efforts are counteracting the energy imbalances we’re causing,” Kramer says. “Radiative forcing will be another tool in the toolbox for monitoring our climate and having a productive discussion about what’s helping and what’s not.”

Banner image: A rendering of the NOAA-20 satellite, which is currently carrying instruments for the CERES mission. Image courtesy of NASA.

Meet “The Terminator”: UMBC-led research connects solar cycle with climate predictions in a new way

The solar cycle involves periodic changes in activity on the Sun’s surface, and a new way of thinking about it reveals connections between solar activity and weather patterns on Earth. New research in Earth & Space Science led by Robert Leamon, research scientist at the Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute, a UMBC partnership with NASA, describes the discovery of a solar cycle phenomenon the authors have dubbed “the terminator.”

The researchers found that a La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean quickly follows a terminator event. La Niña and El Niño patterns affect everything from the likelihood of severe hurricanes to the success of the growing season. This means the ability to predict these patterns on the scale of about a decade could help communities and governments prepare for natural disasters, shifting crop supply and prices, and more. Organizations like NOAA currently offer weather pattern predictions about one year out, but access to decade-scale forecasts would be a huge advance.

Robert Leamon. Photo courtesy Robert Leamon.

The terminator

Leamon and co-authors Scott McIntosh and Daniel Marsh, both at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, define the terminator as the precise point where any remnants of activity from the previous cycle disappear from the sun’s surface. After “termination,” there is a dramatic increase in solar activity in the new cycle. Activity associated with two consecutive cycles usually overlaps for a few years, but the two cycles’ sunspots are distinguishable from each other based on their magnetic polarity (north vs. south). The polarity of the Sun reverses direction each cycle.

Previously, scientists defined the transition from one solar cycle to the next as the “solar minimum,” where overall solar activity is at its lowest point. However, this definition is imprecise. The terminator gives researchers a new way to think about the end of the solar cycle, and a more precise way to predict the timing of ensuing weather patterns.

Based on continuously collected cosmic ray data from an observatory in Finland, the new study demonstrates that a terminator event has consistently occurred about one year after the traditional “solar minimum” during each solar cycle for the last 60 years. In fact, data in the paper, which has been in the works since 2017, accurately predicted the next La Niña in 2020.

The name for the phenomenon was an easy choice, according to Leamon. “We’ve been calling this the terminator for a few years, because it indicates the death of a solar cycle,” he says. “And, because it’s predictable, it will, as always, ‘be back.’”

A “cycling” solution

Not all solar cycles are exactly the same length. They can range from about nine to 14 years, averaging around 11 years. So, Leamon used a creative, athletics-inspired technique to compare the timing of the sequence of events in each cycle. When reviewing his stats from a 100-mile bike ride in 2017, he noticed that each 25-mile lap got a little slower, but there were always the same speed-ups and slow-downs around certain features on the course, like hills. So, if he plotted the laps by distance, rather than time, all the hills lined up. Why not do the same for the solar cycle?

Using a GPS watch to track a 100-mile bike race inspired the technique Robert Leamon employed in his new research. Here he competes in an Ironman triathlon. Photo courtesy Robert Leamon.

While the solar cycle doesn’t technically have a “distance” measurement, it’s possible to divide the length of each sun cycle into 100 equal parts, then plot the cycles on top of each other to compare their features.

“It’s one of those things… You just have a moment of inspiration and think, why don’t I try that?” Leamon says. “That’s how this study came to be. Rather than plotting the cycles by time, do it as distance.” And when you do that, he says, “all sorts of things start to line up.”

Hidden signals

This technique revealed that the transition away from the solar minimum is quite abrupt, rather than the smooth curves depicted in many explanatory charts of the solar cycle. “It’s not a smooth transition. There’s actually a sharp jump in solar activity and a sharp drop in cosmic rays right when solar activity picks up,” Leamon explains.

The relative abundance of cosmic rays entering Earth’s atmosphere is one of the ways that scientists can measure solar activity. When solar activity is limited, the magnetic fields associated with Earth and the Sun are simple and largely aligned. That creates an uninterrupted path for more cosmic rays to reach Earth. However, with high solar activity, the magnetic fields are complex. “Swiss cheese is perhaps a good analogy,” Leamon says. “There’s more stuff to scatter incoming particles off of. So at solar maximum, there’s a smaller number of cosmic rays hitting the Earth.”

Other researchers may have considered the irregular increase and decrease of solar activity as just noise in the data, but mapping the cycles by “distance” allowed Leamon to see that it was a consistent phenomenon. “One man’s noise is another man’s signal,” he says with a smile. “So don’t over-smooth things,” he says, or you’ll risk missing essential information.

Diagrams of the general weather trends during La Niña and El Niño events. Courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. (Scroll left and right to see the full image for each weather pattern.)

Think outside the sky

Leamon acknowledges a concern that some people will try to use his study as evidence that climate change is caused by the Sun, not humans. That argument has long been made by deniers of human-caused climate change. But Leamon is clear that it misinterprets his findings.

When we talk about global warming, he says, “we’re only talking about the troposphere—the bottom few miles of the atmosphere where we live. But one of the consequences of a warming troposphere is a colder stratosphere,” which extends about 32 miles above Earth’s surface. By keeping more heat closer to the surface, that heat doesn’t escape and warm the stratosphere—and a colder stratosphere intensifies the solar cycle changes by increasing electrical conductivity in the upper atmosphere.

In fact, “since the 1950s there’s been a noticeable cooling of the stratosphere to go along with the warming of the troposphere,” Leamon says. That correlates with the beginning of seismic shifts in the U.S. standard of living, energy use, and other factors that have contributed to human-caused climate change. So, it’s fair to say that the Sun is a factor in the climate, but its role has intensified because of human activity, Leamon explains.

Science for the people

Leamon has additional research under review that offers further details about events during the solar cycle. His upcoming work also takes advantage of the new way of looking at the data inspired by his bike ride. Combined with the current results, the goal is to generate knowledge that both satisfies our innate curiosity about the workings of the solar system and helps people and communities navigate a changing world.

“If further research can establish that changes on the Sun are truly causing variability in the oceans, then we may be able to improve our ability to predict El Niño and La Niña events,” Leamon says. “That could help us understand how the Earth system varies on the scale of a season to a decade, and how predictable those variations are—giving us a firmer grasp on the complex bridge between weather and climate.”

Banner image: An image of a terminator event on the Sun in 2011. The three different colors (added by researchers) represent three temperatures. Photo courtesy of NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Kizzmekia Corbett ’08 talks to CNN about Meyerhoff Scholars, vaccine hesitancy

Kizzmekia Corbett ’08, M16, biological sciences and sociology, is the lead scientist of the research team that developed the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). She returned to campus April 2 for an interview with CNN. From a lab in the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, Corbett spoke about the impact of UMBC and the Meyerhoff Scholars Program on her success.

“Had I not been exposed to Dr. Hrabowski and the Meyerhoff Program…I’m not even so sure that I would be a scientist. It’s really about exposure and resources given to people,” Corbett told CNN. In particular, encounters at UMBC that led her to double major in biological sciences and sociology uniquely prepared her for this moment, when the country is witnessing both an urgent need for cutting-edge science and the effects of widespread health disparities.

The juxtaposition of the reckoning around racial discrimination and the pandemic’s disproportionate effect on people of color “really came together and put a burden on me in so many ways, and it made me more motivated around what I needed to do as far as getting this vaccine out,” Corbett told CNN. “I think as I have looked back on the pandemic, and my work and my team’s work in the pandemic, I feel like it was my purpose, almost.”

It’s about listening

Corbett also understands the importance of approaching vaccine hesitancy with empathy. “I think there is really nothing that you say. It’s really about listening,” she said in the interview. “There is a subset of people who just haven’t been listened to around their health issues and around technology, really. And I just felt like it was time for me to sit down and empathize with an entire group of people who had been ignored.”

Corbett is hopeful for a new generation of diverse scientists. “I think it’s been exciting to be able to be an inspiration,” she says. “I’m happy to be visible if it means that more people understand the science behind this vaccine and for vaccines to come.”

A conversation between Corbett and President Freeman Hrabowski was also featured at the 2nd Annual African Americans in Health Care Awards, presented by Kaiser Permanente and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture. Corbett was also featured in the Lifetime Presents Women Making History special and as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Next.

Banner image: Capture from CNN interview with Kizzmekia Corbett ’08, M16, in UMBC’s Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building.

UMBC’s Anthony Johnson honored for decades of research, mentorship, service

Anthony Johnson, a professor of both physics and computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE) at UMBC, has spent forty years investigating uses for ultrashort pulse lasers. Shrinking cancerous tumors, optimizing long-distance communications, inactivating viruses that commonly infect seafood species, developing new nanoscale materials—he seems to have done it all.

In addition to being an accomplished researcher, Johnson has successfully mentored dozens of students from all backgrounds as they pursued advanced degrees, maintaining contact and continuing to offer support long after graduation. And he’s held key leadership roles in his field, from co-chairing the annual Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) in 1992, to serving as president of the Optical Society in 2002 and as the editor-in-chief of Optics Letters, the premier peer-reviewed optics journal, from 1995 – 2001.

This year, Johnson’s long-term commitment has resulted in a new accolade: the Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award from the Optical Society. The award is presented each year to someone who has served the Optical Society in an “outstanding way” over an extended period.

Ever humble, “Being a past president [of the Optical Society], being on the board, and so forth, when I saw this email about this award, my initial thought was, ‘Ok, they want me to be on the committee to select the awardee,’” Johnson recalls. “It never occurred to me that it was for me. It was quite surprising, and it’s quite an honor.”

Inclusion imperative

Beyond his work within the Optical Society, Johnson was also recently named to the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion on the Technical Advisory Board of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Johnson says there hasn’t been nearly enough change in the number of non-white and women physicists and engineers since he started in the 1970s, and he has made supporting inclusion in physics and engineering a cornerstone of his career.

“There’s still a lot to be done in our professional societies to build up and attract both women and minorities,” Johnson says. “We still have work to do to expand the opportunities to a broader set of people and bring in new ideas. So being on some of these committees is important.”

Closer to home, Johnson works hard to create an inclusive environment in his own research group. “I like to think of us as a family,” he says.

Anthony Johnson (center front) with his research group in 2011. Photo courtesy Anthony Johnson.

Johnson knows how powerful it can be for young scientists to meet researchers with more experience and have opportunities to forge connections. With this in mind, he says, “I try to give my students as many opportunities as possible to go out and give presentations and be involved in the field of science.”

When working with students of all backgrounds, Johnson’s “kindness comes through,” says Stephen Fantone, after whom the award is named. Fantone has known Johnson for many years through the Optical Society, but has no role in the awardee selection process. He shares, “Anthony understands the role of nurturing students, helping them to find their inner spring and to fulfill their potential and their own personal dreams.”

Expert, colleague, friend

Students are not the only beneficiaries of Johnson’s support. “I gained many nuggets from his advice and leadership to the American Physical Society on graduate education and diversity, long before I made it to UMBC,” shares Belay Demoz, professor of physics and director of the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET). “As another Black physicist at UMBC, he is my go-to guy for advice on how to handle delicate things; he is generous with his time and has a calming effect on me.”

Anthony Johnson (right) works with students in his lab on a laser setup at CASPR in 2017. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Johnson’s colleagues recognize the range of important contributions he has made over the years. “The CSEE department is delighted to hear of these richly deserved honors for Dr. Johnson. He is a valued colleague in the department, and a world-renowned authority in the area of optics and photonics,” shares Anupam Joshi, professor and chair of CSEE.

Joshi notes, “These awards recognize that in addition to being a great researcher, he embodies the service mission of a public university, addressing important societal challenges like diversity and inclusion through his service to the major professional organizations.”

An exhilarating beginning

Johnson got his start in optics as an undergraduate at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now the NYU Tandon School of Engineering) in the 1970s. A physics instructor encouraged him to pursue an internship at Bell Labs through the company’s Summer Research Program for Women and Minorities. The experience set Johnson’s entire career in motion.

“That’s where I really got my love of science and optics,” Johnson says.

Anthony Johnson interning at Bell Labs in 1974. At left, he is with mentor David Auston. Photos courtesy Anthony Johnson.

He earned his Ph.D. in physics from City College of New York, completing his doctoral research at Bell Labs. After his Ph.D., Johnson continued to work at Bell Labs for nearly 15 years, when the lab was in its heyday. “During my doctoral research at Bell Labs, I learned just how many celebrities in physics were there. I could walk down the hall and talk to people we put on pedestals,” Johnson remembers. “It was quite an experience.”

At Bell Labs, Johnson also had the opportunity to mentor interns coming through the same program that had gotten him started. His physics instructor’s impact on his trajectory was not lost on Johnson, and he made a concerted effort to pay it forward with his interns. Eventually, Johnson remembers, “I said, ‘You know, I could enjoy doing this at a university.’”

New home, same mission

So, Johnson made the move to academia. After eight years as a department chair at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, he joined UMBC in 2003. In 2006, he became the UMBC lead on the university’s very first inter-institutional research center when one of his former Bell Labs colleagues, now at Princeton University, suggested the idea.

Members of Johnson’s lab group manipulate a complicated laser setup in the lab. Photo by Mralayna Demond ’11 for UMBC, taken 2017.

NSF funded the Engineering Research Center (ERC), named Mid-Infrared Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE), for 10 years. The center supported research, graduate students, and an annual weeklong meeting where the students from the participating universities shared their progress and forged lasting connections. The six-institution collaboration was headquartered at Princeton, and Johnson served as one of two deputy directors.

The center’s work largely focused on medical applications of infrared technologies. For example, one of the group’s inventions included a breathalyzer-style device to detect ammonia, which can indicate liver and kidney problems.

Today, Johnson serves as the director of UMBC’s Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR). “I’m cherishing being in academia and working with faculty and students, and, in particular, having students and graduating students pursuing advanced degrees,” Johnson says. “It’s really a satisfying process and enterprise, so that has been quite enjoyable.”

Distinctive approach to leadership

Colleagues also cherish their time with Johnson. In particular, Fantone says, Johnson is well-suited to handle challenging conversations. “In conversation, you can be on opposite sides of an issue, but he doesn’t adopt polarizing tactics,” Fantone says. “He wants to have civil discourse, which leads both parties in the discussion to a better place.” Fantone has seen this play out time and again in conversations with students and colleagues.

Another perspective on one of the laser setups in Johnson’s research laboratory. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC, taken 2017.

David Auston, one of Johnson’s first mentors at Bell Labs with a lengthy career in research and academic administration, is “thrilled” that Johnson is the 2021 award recipient. “Anthony is an outstanding scientist who has fulfilled many key leadership roles with distinction both in the Optical Society and in the scientific community at large,” Auston says. “This is a most deserving recognition of his numerous important contributions.”

As he enters his fifth decade of professional life, it seems certain Johnson will keep on giving to his community by generating scientific advances, creating meaningful relationships, and inspiring others. As Fantone puts it, “Working with Anthony puts a smile on your face, even when you are working on serious problems. And when you work with Anthony, you have high confidence that the effort is going to be successful.”

“He’s just a person you want in the trenches with you,” Fantone says. “Anthony is an exemplar of a complete human being.”

Banner image: Johnson, right, examines a laser setup in his laboratory. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC, taken 2017.

UMBC student research offers hope for critically endangered Bahama Oriole

On a low-lying island in the Caribbean, the future of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole just got a shade brighter. A new study co-led by Michael Rowley ’18, M26, biological sciences, estimates that there are at least 10 times as many Bahama Orioles as scientists previously thought.

Rowley and colleagues are sharing the findings with Birdlife International, the organization that makes recommendations to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) about birds on its Red List of threatened species. The findings may influence IUCN to down-list the Bahama Oriole from critically endangered to endangered.

The research team surveyed roughly 25 percent of Andros Island in the Bahamas, the only place these birds live. Their data indicate that somewhere between 1300 and 2800 of these striking black and yellow birds exist in that portion of the island, suggesting that the overall population is likely several thousand. Older studies estimated the entire population at fewer than 300.

The new result “is a step forward for conservation,” Rowley says. “This makes the world a bit more informed about what we should be putting our efforts toward. There are other birds that could use attention as well.”

Michael Rowley and **Alexis Scarselletta** ’16, biological sciences, with a Baltimore Oriole at Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland in 2016. Photo by Kevin Omland.

A fresh look

Rowley’s results are the latest in a string of important discoveries led by undergraduates mentored by Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences.

For example, earlier work had assumed that Bahama Orioles primarily nest in human-dominated habitats. But in 2018, Daniel Stonko ’17, biological sciences, upended that understanding of Bahama Oriole ecology. Stonko and colleagues reported the first three Bahama Oriole nests ever recorded in the pine forest, which is the most common land habitat on the island.

A follow-up study published in December 2020 and led by Briana Yancy ’19, M27, environmental science, further detailed nest site characteristics for the orioles on Andros. She found they prefer pine forest containing native thatch palm trees, where they frequently place their nests.

“The orioles seem to be able to nest in quite a few different habitats, which is really good for the orioles and important to know,” Omland says. The new habitat information will also be important for local conservation efforts led by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), which has been a key partner to Omland’s research group throughout its long-standing work in the Caribbean.

“If the BNT is able to create or expand national parks, they might try to include more of the pine forest with these tall thatch palm trees in the understory,” Omland says.

A Bahama Oriole perches in a pine tree on Andros Island in the Bahamas. Photo by **Matthew Kane** ’19, biological sciences.

Students in charge

In addition to being a win for the orioles, the students’ research projects were a touchstone of their UMBC experience.

“Being in Kevin’s lab is amazing, because he really lets you take charge and get to do everything,” Yancy says. “He starts you out with small tasks to get acquainted with a project, and then he has you doing your own research project. He has you doing statistics and applying for your own grants—which is a huge important skill in this field—and then ultimately publishing in peer-reviewed journals.”

For Yancy, doing fieldwork abroad was another big part of the experience. “We were constantly interacting with the local people and talking to them to find birds and show us nests that they’d seen,” she says. “That experience impacted me in that I want to find a position with that flexibility where I can still engage with people, do research, and write.”

Briana Yancy (right) and Matthew Kane conduct Bahama Oriole research in the Bahamas in 2018. Photo by Matthew Kane.

Today, Yancy is in a master’s program offered through Miami University of Ohio. She spends most of her time in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay, however, because her thesis focuses on coastal ecosystem conservation.

At the same time, Yancy has been serving with AmeriCorps at Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. She conducts historical research and engages with the local community to develop historical hikes. She just accepted a new position as an environmental management staff member at the Chesapeake Research Consortium, where she supports the Chesapeake Bay Program’s diversity work group.

Broadening horizons

Rowley has been equally influenced by his time with the Omland lab. Joining the lab “was one of the best decisions I ever made, because right off the bat Kevin involves you in field work,” he says. “You’re out learning how to use the tools, being involved in a lot of the coolest aspects of the research.”

For Rowley, his first research trip to the Bahamas was also his first trip outside the lower 48 states. “It was an incredible privilege,” he says, “and it really opened me up to my current interest in conservation work and wildlife biology.”

Today, Rowley is a master’s student at Villanova University. His research focuses on how Carolina and Black-capped Chickadees interact. The two nearly identical species interbreed in a narrow band where their ranges overlap. That territory snakes from Iowa east to southern New Jersey and is moving ever-northward due to climate change.

“The undergrad research scene at UMBC is just so rich and involved,” Rowley says, “and I really appreciate that for letting me get as far as I’ve gotten with it.”

Kevin Omland, rear, goes birdwatching on campus with some of his students. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Mentoring mentality

Giving undergraduates real, impactful research opportunities is a pillar of Omland’s work. After his first research trip with students to Puerto Rico in 2013, “It was so clear that the opportunity to do international field research was transformative for them as individuals and as scientists,” he says. “I just wanted to be involved with that more, and it’s worked out very well.”

The Bahama Oriole Project in particular has been a wonderful source of student projects. “It’s fun with something like this, because we know so little, that doing even very simple, elegant experiments can tell us really important things,” Omland says. “There’s 97 things we need to know right now, so when a student comes in, you have a lot of different choices to pick a project that fits their interests and skills.”

Students in the lab are pursuing a range of majors, such as biological sciences, environmental science, geography, and statistics. They each contribute their own expertise, from mapping habitat on the island, to counting birds, to running analyses of the data. The UMBC students have also had the chance to collaborate with Bahamian students.

And, Omland emphasizes, “Everything up to now with this project has been undergraduate-driven. The students have found the nests on their own, mapped the roads… A lot of these roads, I’ve never been on. UMBC students found them, mapped them, and went out and did the counts on them.”

**Susanna Campbell** ’15, biological sciences, on the Omland group’s first trip to Puerto Rico in 2013. Photo by Kevin Omland.

Lasting impact

Yancy and Rowley attest that their work with Omland has indeed been transformative. Yancy’s research “ended up being a perfect experience, and it definitely has influenced me going forward,” she says. “I’m more confident in myself.”

She also shares that she’s learned “I love to do research, and I have a passion for community science—getting other people involved in science and caring about the environment—so that’s what I’m looking for in my next position.”

Rowley reflects on his most recent paper. “How many people get to work on a project when they’re an undergrad that has such a real world outcome, while also being able to do field work, and work with animals, and get involved in the community?” he says. “It’s really great to know that the work we’ve done is having such an exciting impact.”

Banner image: A Bahama Oriole perched on a branch. Photo by Matthew Kane.

UMBC launches Biotech Boot Camp to train workers displaced by COVID-19 for in-demand jobs

This month, 11 Montgomery County residents completed a pilot Biotech Boot Camp offered by UMBC at the Universities at Shady Grove and Montgomery College. The participants were all people who had recently become unemployed or underemployed due to the pandemic. After four weeks of intensive, hands-on training in basic biotech techniques, they are now qualified to apply for in-demand, entry-level roles in the biotech industry.

While some industries have experienced significant setbacks and lost jobs during the pandemic, the biotech industry has seen explosive growth. Hundreds of biotech companies in the region are struggling to fill critical roles with qualified workers. The new program seeks to address this mismatch between available workers and available jobs.

A participant in the Biotech Boot Camp practices his skills at a fume hood. Photo by Elizabeth Friar.

UMBC and Montgomery College partnered with WorkSource Montgomery to identify eligible participants for a skills-based introductory training course. With the support of the Montgomery County government, the experience was tuition-free for participants.

Setting people up to succeed in well-paying new jobs and simultaneously filling the gap in the biotech workforce “is a win-win that we’re really excited to be a part of,” says Annica Wayman ‘99, M6, mechanical engineering. Wayman serves as associate dean for Shady Grove Affairs in UMBC’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

Leveraging skills

Some of the participants came to the program from lengthy careers in other fields, from sales to transportation. “We’re looking for ways to tie what they used to do to biotech, now that they have these new lab skills,” Wayman says. “We’re trying our best to be matchmakers—we’re racing to do that now.”

Manik Ghosh, assistant director of the Translational Life Science Technology degree program laboratories at UMBC-Shady Grove, is the lead instructor for the boot camp. He is confident that the training he designed will set participants up for success. “If they get interviewed, and they get an opportunity to join a company, we are 100 percent sure that they are capable of entry-level work,” he says.

A participant in the Biotech Boot Camp loads samples into an incubator. Photo by Elizabeth Friar.

Because they already have extensive work experience, some of the participants may quickly ascend into mid-level positions. These roles can be especially difficult for companies to fill because of a pipeline gap.

“Leveraging their prior skills could be a great way for them to build mid-level careers in biotech very quickly,” Wayman says. A few have also already expressed interest in UMBC’s Master of Professional Studies in Biotechnology, which would help them rise even faster.

Seizing opportunity

When he heard about the project, “I got so excited!” recalls Ghosh, who also teaches courses on cancer biotechnology and biochemistry. His enthusiasm is impossible to ignore; his laughter and smile come easily as he recalls the experience of planning the boot camp and implementing it with the students. He described the planning group, including Wayman; Elizabeth Friar, TLST program director; and himself, as a “dream team.”

Offering the boot camp in person was challenging during the pandemic, though, with everyone masked, gloved, and maintaining social distance. “It’s a very dynamic and challenging environment,” Ghosh says. But at the same time, “This was a great opportunity for us, because this is a pilot program. We got a lot of great experience for if we run another boot camp, so we can change accordingly.”

Seated at a safe social distance, participants in the Biotech Boot Camp use microscopes to observe their samples. Photo by Gabrielle Miller

Optimism in a challenging time

On top of generating a blueprint for future programs, developing the students’ lab skills, and supplying local businesses with qualified talent, the boot camp offered something even more valuable to the participants: confidence and optimism.

“It’s been amazing,” Ghosh says. “The first day, when they joined the boot camp, they looked nervous because they didn’t know anything about biotech. But as time passed, we saw a significant change in their confidence level.”

For the participants who identify with groups underrepresented in STEM, Wayman has been an inspiring presence. “Just me being an African American woman in the sciences has been encouraging for them to know that there are people like them succeeding in this high tech industry, so they can do it, too,” she says.

Wayman has also been working with the students on their resumes and supporting them through personal challenges. “It’s been amazing to make these personal connections in such a short period of time.”

Kevin Wiglesworth came to the program from a long career in sales. Now he’s excited to blaze a new path. “The most exciting thing about camp was taking something I had no experience with and feeling confident in those skills when the camp was over. It proved to me I still have the ability to pursue a new career,” he shared in a note to Ghosh after the program concluded. “Thank you again for all the work you put into teaching a newbie like me. I’ll never forget that.”

Working with students like Wiglesworth “is a great feeling, because I know we worked very hard, and they worked very hard with us,” Ghosh says. “This is a very challenging time, and at the end of the day, we are very satisfied in our hearts because we helped the people who needed it.”

Banner image: The exterior of the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building at The Universities at Shady Grove. Dedicated in 2019, the building contains the labs where the Biotech Boot Camp took place. Photo courtesy of USG.

UMBC receives $870K NIH grant to launch ESTEEMED Scholars program that brings engineering into biomedicine

This spring, the first cohort of ESTEEMED Scholars arrives at UMBC on their path to revolutionizing biomedicine. The new program stands for Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Educational Diversity. Funded with a $870,000 grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), ESTEEMED will serve students pursuing a wide range of STEM majors who have an interest in bringing engineering solutions to biomedicine challenges.

The ESTEEMED program will support first- and second-year students, with the goal of preparing them to apply for advanced honors programs (such as the U-RISE Scholars) in their third and fourth years. Scholars will participate in many of the same activities as UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars, such as summer bridge experiences that build community, structure and support to apply for research opportunities, funding for academic conference travel, peer and faculty mentoring, and intensive academic advising. They will also have their own unique experiences.

Building resilience

Among elements that make the ESTEEMED program distinctive are monthly casual gatherings for the scholars and UMBC faculty. These opportunities are “designed to promote the community and STEM identity of the students,” shares Patrice Darby, general associate of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. “They can mingle with the faculty to see themselves as a ‘we,’ as in, ‘I belong here, I am part of this community.’”

Jennie Leach mentors a student in her laboratory.

Seminar courses also create opportunities for students to learn about faculty members’ career journeys. “I am particularly excited to lead our seminar series for first-year students,” shares Jennie Leach, associate professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering, and the lead on the grant. “In these seminars,” Leach says, “UMBC faculty and alumni are invited to talk about their research, share their personal story, and provide wisdom that they developed during their path from training to their current career.”

A Second Year Experience course will give the ESTEEMED Scholars the skills and confidence to continue progressing in their degrees. Topics may include science communication skills, leadership training, and habits and practices that can help them thrive through common challenges STEM majors face in their sophomore year.

Setting the course

In addition, each student will generate an Individual Development Plan (IDP). “The IDP has students begin with the end in mind, and think about ‘What are my long-term career goals, and what steps can I take now to get there?’” Darby says. “We bring in a specialist to help students flesh out what it is they want to do, and what is the most effective pathway to get there.”

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman ’19, M26, meets for advising with **Jacqueline King**, associate director of the MARC U*STAR and U-RISE programs.

One thing the scholars will work on with the consultant is how to have effective conversations with faculty. “The IDP gives students the tools they need to have pivotal conversations with their research mentors,” Darby says, “to put everybody on the same page and set them up for success, and really propel them into their Ph.D. and M.D.-Ph.D. programs.”

A national model—again

Before launching ESTEEMED at UMBC, the university played an outsize role in the program’s development at a national level. In 2012, NIBIB reached out to UMBC and asked if the Meyerhoff Scholars Program would be willing to pilot a program for students interested in applying engineering to biomedical applications. The Meyerhoff program is nationally renowned as a “gold standard” for producing hundreds of leading STEM researchers from underrepresented groups.

UMBC said yes to NBIB’s invitation to launch th pilot, which also served as a research study to inform the national program structure. At the end of the four-year pilot, UMBC produced a report with recommendations for the formal creation of the program.

**Abby Cruz** ’18, a MARC U*STAR Scholar, works in the lab with **Fernando Vonhoff**, who was just named Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year at UMBC.

“The pilot served as a model that they could take and adapt to launch a nationwide initiative, which became ESTEEMED,” says Keith Harmon, director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. The study recommended that all institutions joining the program be required to provide key elements for success, such as summer bridge, peer advising, and early exposure to research.

NIBIB listened, and ESTEEMED now closely resembles UMBC’s proven vision for effectively building community, supplying ample support, and instilling confidence and independence in students. Together, these components set students on a path to persist in STEM and earn graduate degrees.

Now that UMBC is officially part of the program, “We have a new project to give more students a distinctive experience,” Harmon says.

‘Eagerness into action’

UMBC’s faculty also make the university particularly well-suited to offer ESTEEMED Scholars a rich interdisciplinary research experience. The scientific leads on the grant are Leach and Phyllis Robinson, professor of biological sciences. They and several of their colleagues already take engineering approaches to biomedicine. They also have significant depth of experience mentoring and publishing with undergraduate students from a range of backgrounds.

UMBC’s 2018 valedictorian **Eudorah Vital** (right), a MARC U*STAR and Meyerhoff Scholar, with MARC U*STAR program director Phyllis Robinson (center) and commencement speaker Paula Johnson, president of Wellesley College.

“That was a strength of our application, that we have wonderful faculty at UMBC whose records met those requirements,” Harmon says. “We have experienced and dedicated faculty with strategies and mentoring styles that promote success and inclusion.”

Harmon adds that the research by those same faculty mentors “has that thread, that connection, to bridging engineering and physical and computational sciences with medicine and health and biomedicine.”

The new scholars are poised to take in their mentors’ knowledge and then create their own for the benefit of society. “Today’s students are eager to use science and engineering to make the world a better place,” Leach says. “The ESTEEMED Scholars program will support students in putting this eagerness into action via engagement in real biomedical research.”

Banner image: STEM BUILD Trainee Alexis Waller ’18, biological sciences, with her mentor, postdoctoral fellow Pengfei Ding.

All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Quantum computing, but even faster? UMBC researchers explore the possibilities with new NSF grant

Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize communications, cybersecurity, and more, by dramatically speeding computation, researchers say. But as Sebastian Deffner notes, “Even quantum computing has shortcomings.”

There may be ways to work around some of quantum computing’s limits, however, further enhancing its speed and other aspects of performance. Deffner, assistant professor of physics at UMBC, and Nathan Myers, a Ph.D. student in Deffner’s research group, will explore techniques to do that with a new three-year, $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. And in the process, they just might redefine the fundamental laws of physics.

From paper to the real world

Typically, the quantum systems Deffner’s group (and anyone else) have studied are linear, meaning they are defined by mathematical equations that appear as a line when graphed. However, Deffner says, based on the math, “non-linear systems have very unique capabilities that allow you to circumvent many of the standard problems of linear quantum computing.”

A two-line proof in the grant proposal shows that in theory, non-linear systems can operate much faster than linear quantum systems, and possibly perform better in other ways, too. “Now the question is,” Deffner says, “is that just something you can write on paper, or does it actually play a role in applications?”

Because it doesn’t matter how fast a system could be in theory, if, to go that fast, most of the energy input is released as heat instead of being used for computations. In that case, the total energy required to get anything useful accomplished makes operating such a device impractical in the real world.

That’s why Deffner’s research group focuses on a burgeoning new field known as quantum thermodynamics—the study of the relationships between heat and other forms of energy in quantum systems. Previously, they developed and refined the idea of the “quantum speed limit,” which quantifies the limits of linear quantum systems. Now they’ll expand that work to non-linear systems.

The beauty of math

So, why is it that most of the quantum systems researchers have studied are linear? And where do non-linear systems come in?

Well, quantum systems are composed of many particles that are constantly interacting with each other in a linear fashion. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to precisely define and measure all of those interactions using today’s technology. It is possible, however, to approximate the sum of all of those linear interactions. That approximation can be added to the linear equation describing the overall system as a single term. And here’s the catch: That term is non-linear.

The UMBC physics building fronted by a large quad dusted in snow — UMBC’s Physics Building stands on the left in winter 2019. (Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC).

By accounting for these particle interactions, “we can potentially get a non-linear speed-up from an underlying linear system. That’s the goal,” Myers says. But—and here’s where the thermodynamics comes in—“Say we get this non-linear system,” Myers says. “What energy cost are we paying for it? Is it worth it?”

So a goal of the new project is to better understand the thermodynamics of these non-linear systems. The findings would help quantify how much faster they might be than linear quantum systems, and if it would be feasible to create and run them in the real world.

A monumental leap

The shift from linear to non-linear systems might seem incremental, but it’s actually monumental. Sadi Carnot, a French engineer, developed the field of thermodynamics in the early 19th century to describe steam engines. Then, in the late 20th century, researchers overhauled his foundational principles to apply them to linear quantum systems.

“We have all these statements of thermodynamics that we just recently formulated for quantum systems,” Deffner says. But non-linear systems are so different that another retrofit won’t be sufficient. “What we need to do is go back to the beginnings of quantum thermodynamics and just redo everything.”

They’ll start by developing three foundational mathematical statements describing the non-linear systems. “Those statements will build the foundation upon which we then can build the whole theory,” Deffner says. They’ll test their work on two major algorithms used in database searches and encryption technology.

“Hopefully our work will lead to a broader exploration of how non-linear systems in general can be used to speed up a whole range of quantum devices, or enhance their performance in other ways,” Myers says.

A global UMBC team

During the pandemic, the research group is on four continents and in “I don’t know how many time zones,” according to Deffner. “I told my students from the beginning that we would have to adapt,” he adds. The lab group stays in touch via Slack, WhatsApp, and weekly group meetings. But the work itself is surprisingly low-tech.

a pile of books and papers and a white board covered in handwritten equations — Nathan Myers’ at-home work station. (Photo courtesy of Myers)

“The majority of it is pen and paper,” Myers says, plus a lot of reading. “Doing good theory work requires having a really broad knowledge base of what’s being done in different disciplines of physics. Real progress happens when someone realizes that a technique or tool from another area is also applicable to their own problem.”

Myers loves the work, and says his entire thesis grew out of a single question he asked Deffner after class one day. Deffner’s response? “That’s a great question. Want to do a project?”

“It all started with one root question that’s then grown a lot of different branches,” he says. “That’s one of the things that makes it so exciting—you’re following this train of thoughts. You’re pulling at the thread in the sweater, it’s unraveling more and more, and you’re seeing how many different things can grow out of this single question. It’s exciting and it’s fun.”

Disruptive discoveries

In the process of having fun, Myers and Deffner will reformulate thermodynamics for non-linear quantum systems, figure out whether building them is feasible, and get an idea of what their perks might be. Deffner’s team just might also come up with something revolutionary.

Myers tells the story of Carnot, who, in an attempt to optimize the disruptive technology of his day, ended up conceiving the laws of thermodynamics. “By trying to determine the most efficient steam engine possible, he ended up deriving perhaps the most fundamental law in all of physics,” Myers says.

“Now we’re in a similar position to Carnot,” he suggests. “We have this new disruptive technology that’s emerging—it was steam engines for him, quantum devices for us—so let’s do the same thing, and hope something really incredible falls out of it.”

UMBC’s Translational Life Science Technology program wins Workforce Champion of the Year

UMBC’s newest undergraduate degree, the bachelor of science in Translational Life Science Technology (TLST), has received the inaugural BioBuzz Workforce Champion of the Year award for its contributions to enhancing the regional biotech workforce.

Bill LaCourse, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, envisioned the program as a way to both support students and help fill a workforce gap in the region’s bustling biotech industry. In fall 2018, the college hired Annica Wayman ’99, M6, mechanical engineering, as associate dean for Shady Grove affairs to oversee implementation of the program. The TLST program, a partnership with Montgomery College, enrolled its first students in fall 2019, and its first graduates will earn their degrees this week.

“It was important to me to implement this program because it is innovative and impactful,” Wayman says. “A multidisciplinary curriculum that includes cell biology, bioinformatics, bioprocess design and control, and epidemiology…more accurately reflects what the drug discovery and development process in the industry looks like. It also helps to build more critical thinkers that have an intellectual curiosity.”

Left to right: Jackelyn Flores ’21, Charmaine Hipolito ’20, and Titina Sirak ’20 are some of the first participants in UMBC’s Translational Life Science Technology program. Photo by USG.

Ready for biotech careers

In addition to establishing the TLST program, Wayman and her team have re-launched UMBC’s master’s degree in biotechnology management at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) campus in Montgomery County. Graduates of both programs are prepared to enter a range of well-paying roles in the local biotech industry.

“UMBC’s TLST degree uniquely prepares students for the many jobs in the growing biotechnology industry where medical products are made,” Wayman writes in a USG blog post. “Among the 300-plus biotech companies in Montgomery County, there will be hundreds of jobs opening in the next few years to work on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, cell and gene therapy products, and other novel biopharmaceuticals.”

New alumni joining these companies will also help support a leading industry in the region’s economy, particularly important in this economically challenging time.

Club Biotech

Titina Sirak ’20, TLST, is graduating this week with multiple job offers for biotech positions. Her experiences with varied coursework and multiple internships have prepared her to succeed. “From those experiences, I got my foot in the door,” Sirak says.

The support she found at Shady Grove, and in the TLST community in particular, was also key for her progress. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Dr. Wayman,” Sirak says. “I was new to this country—I just moved here two years ago.”

“I love the openness and the communication between the students and the professors,” adds Charmaine Hipolito ’20, TLST. Together, Sirak and Hipolito created Club Biotech to help their classmates connect with employers and learn more about the industry.

Wayman has long seen TLST as a way to get students excited about careers in biotechnology, as well as to prepare them for biotech jobs. And the experiences of the program’s first graduates show her that it’s already happening.

Charmaine Hipolito ’20 (center left) and Titina Sirak ’20 (center right) speak with visitors at a celebration for the opening of USG’s new Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building, November 2019. Photo by USG.

A team effort

Although Wayman has been the implementation lead, she is quick to thank the many others who have coaxed the program into existence and continue to nurture its growth. Receiving the BioBuzz Workforce Champion of the Year award, she says, is a credit to the work of a dedicated team.

“It is because of the visionary thinking of [Dean] Bill LaCourse, [Vice Provost] Chris Steele, and many others at UMBC; Sanjay Ray, Margaret Latimer, and Collins Jones at Montgomery College; Stewart Edelstein and Mary Lang at USG; and many others, that the TLST program was created, and now has the opportunity to leverage today’s opportunities and tackle today’s challenges,” Wayman said, in accepting the award. “I thank them so much.”

Wayman continued, “We’re also grateful to the many companies who have collaborated with the TLST program to support applied, practical teaching, hands-on learning, and student internships.” Wayman, LaCourse, and the rest of the TLST team look forward to continuing to create opportunities for students to thrive in the biotech industry, as they address global challenges through gene therapy, vaccine development, and future biotech innovations.

Several members of the UMBC team involved in launching the TLST program. From left to right: President Freeman Hrabowski; Dean Bill LaCourse; Phil Farabaugh, professor and chair of biological sciences; Christopher Austin, vice-chair of the USG board of advisors and director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; Annica Wayman, associate dean for Shady Grove affairs; Christopher Steele, vice provost for the Division of Professional Studies; and Antonio Moreira, vice provost for academic affairs. Photo by Marlayna Demond 11 for UMBC.

Header image: Titina Sirak ’20, TLST, speaks at the TLST launch event in 2019. Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard is behind her. The TLST program is a partnership with Montgomery College. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC’s newest biotech grads launch careers that will make a difference

UMBC’s Translational Life Science Technology (TLST) degree is the new kid on the block among UMBC undergraduate programs, and its first graduates will earn their degrees this month. These students joined the program—a partnership with Montgomery College—in fall 2019. Through TLST they have gained deep knowledge of all aspects of the biotech industry and hands-on (and virtual) experience through internships and course work. They have also developed genuine and caring relationships with their classmates and professors, and feel ready to launch biotech careers.

Jobs of the future

Take Titina Sirak ’20: She’s already received multiple job offers at biotech companies. She also plans to pursue a graduate degree in data science.

Sirak completed in-person internships in traditional wet labs at the University of Maryland and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Then, she did a remote internship with Kite Pharma, where she helped design a system for managing workflow, minimizing waste, and maximizing efficiency in their pharmaceutical production.

Students in lab coats in a science laboratory. — Charmaine Hipolito ’20 (center) and Titina Sirak ’20 (right) speak with visitors at a celebration for the opening of USG’s new Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (BSE) Building in November 2019. Photo by USG.

“That’s the thing about the TLST major: When you’re studying biotech, you can be in any field. You could be on the data side, you could be in the lab doing manufacturing, you could be planning, you could be on the business side of it,” Sirak says. “That’s how TLST is different from other majors, because you take a whole range of classes. It helps you open up your mind to different sides of biotech.”

Sirak says she loves the manufacturing side and hands-on lab work, but plans to pursue data science because it is where jobs will be most plentiful moving forward. “Lots of things are going to be automated. But if you just look at all the systems that are required to make one pill, every step is recorded data,” she says. “Humans are just figuring out how to deal with all of it. I’m really interested in doing a graduate degree in that, because I want to learn how to analyze and manage data.”

Close-knit community

Sirak’s classmate, Charmaine Hipolito ’20, TLST, also already has more than one biotech job offer in hand. Hipolito originally planned to become a doctor, but a position as a medical assistant helped her realize she wanted to explore other possibilities in the biomedical field. Then she found TLST. “When I looked at the requirements, it seemed like it was just right for what I wanted to do,” she says. “I love lab work and research, and…you’re still helping people. So I thought, ‘Let me try this.’”

A college campus quad — The Universities at Shady Grove campus. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

The program has met her expectations and more. “I really like the classes that the program offered,” Hipolito says. “I feel like those lab courses will really help me right after college, because most of the techniques that we did in class are the things that I’ll be doing in the jobs that are available.”

In addition to the academic program, Hipolito and Sirak both appreciated the closeness of the Shady Grove community.

“Even if it’s small, Shady Grove has been amazing for me,” Sirak says. “You’re close to your professors. It’s easier to develop that close mentoring relationship. There are small class sizes, which helps you feel more connected to the other students. I’m so glad that UMBC has a campus at Shady Grove.”

“It’s very much like a family, and I like that my classmates are really motivated to learn,” Hipolito adds. “When you’re in that kind of environment, it helps you as well. Everyone is really helping everybody. There’s no competition.”

To further support their classmates, Sirak and Hipolito created Club Biotech. Sirak says, “We try to expose the club members to the professional environment and help them find internships and jobs and build networks.”

Two students flank a dog mascot — Titina Sirak (left) and Charmaine Hipolito with True Grit. Photo by USG.

Real-world connections

Pedram Miraghazadeh, M.P.S. ’20, biotechnology management, is completing a graduate degree at Shady Grove focused on biotech, and he experienced some of the same benefits as the TLST students. “When I first started, I knew I liked biotech, but I wasn’t really sure exactly what I wanted to do,” he says. “Each class was different, so you can find your passion in a specific part of biotechnology.”

Miraghazadeh also felt prepared for his internships because of the hands-on nature of the program. “When I went to the lab, I knew what this centrifuge is going to do, how to clean my hood, how to wear my gown—the simple things that I learned from a book, but now I went to the lab and practiced it.”

Miraghazadeh has a special interest in the regulatory process, which has burst into the national spotlight with the development of COVID-19 vaccines. “I was explaining to all of my friends,” he says. “They always call me asking what’s going to happen with phase 1, phase 2, etc. I learned all that stuff in class, and now I see it in the real world.”

He has also felt supported and welcome in the Shady Grove community and with his professors. Miraghazadeh formed a special connection with Antonio Moreira, vice provost for academic affairs, who taught five of his courses. “As vice provost, he’s always busy, but he always made time for me when I had questions,” he says.

Four administrators in a large hall — From left to right: Annica Wayman, associate dean of CNMS; Antonio Moreira, vice provost for academic affairs; Keith Bowman, dean of the College of Engineering and IT; and Bill LaCourse, dean of CNMS. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC, taken at the grand opening of the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building at USG. The BSE is where many of the core TLST classes take place.

Changing the face of biotech

All three students shared that UMBC and the Shady Grove campus helped them find their way. Staff members Abigail Granger and Chelsea Moyer smooth TLST students’ transition from Montgomery College to UMBC and organize activities to help students connect with each other and the larger UMBC community. Grainger is assistant director of undergraduate recruitment and retention and Moyer is the director for UMBC at the Universities at Shady Grove.

Other key supporters of students in UMBC’s biotechnology programs include lecturer and active biotech professional Jeffrey Robinson ’99, biological sciences; Manik Ghosh, assistant director of the TLST program; and Annica Wayman ’99, M6, mechanical engineering, associate dean for Shady Grove affairs in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

“All of my professors have supported me, but Dr. Robinson and Dr. Ghosh have been with us through all three semesters of the program, teaching different classes,” Sirak says. Hipolito adds, “Dr. Robinson is really flexible in working with us, and very understanding when it comes to how some students work at different paces.”

Wayman’s leadership was instrumental in developing and implementing the TLST degree, and re-launching the MPS degree at Shady Grove. She firmly believes these intensive efforts have the potential to make a major difference.

“The impact is in the students we educate, who are often from underrepresented groups in STEM. It’s also in the lives that will be saved through the work they will do after graduating from the TLST program,” Wayman shares. “Additionally, we are able to have impact by addressing the biotechnology workforce crisis in the region.”

“Students leave the program with a greater business acumen and improved leadership and communication skills to complement their technical knowledge and advance their career,” she adds.

Group photo: two administrators and three students — Charmaine Hipolito (second from left) and Titina Sirak (third from left) with Associate Dean Annica Wayman (right) and Dean William LaCourse (left) at a celebration of the TLST program’s launch in May 2019. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

A journey begins

For Wayman, the new graduates’ success is proof that her team’s vision is already coming to life: students are gaining employment in a growing field, feel empowered to make an impact, and know that they have a close network of support.

And for students like Miraghazadeh, UMBC has been more than a degree—it’s been a transformation. He came to the U.S. from Iran seven years ago, spent the first year improving his English, then attended Anne Arundel Community College before graduating from UMBC with his bachelor’s degree. Now he’s completing the biotech MPS with applied internships under his belt. He’s formed meaningful relationships with mentors and peers, and he’s confident and ready to make his own waves.

“UMBC for me,” he shares, “was the place helping me to find out what I want to be.”

Header image: Charmaine Hipolito (right) and Titina Sirak use the microscopes in a teaching lab at the Universities at Shady Grove. Photo by USG.